


iniuriam aqua

by VolunteerFieryDantooinian



Series: ardentem colorem [1]
Category: Star Wars Rebels
Genre: Academy Era, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drowning, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, I'm Sorry, Someone had to write it, canon compliance, crashed ship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 04:19:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7743148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VolunteerFieryDantooinian/pseuds/VolunteerFieryDantooinian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Sabine Wren and Ketsu Onyo are reckless, and things go wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	iniuriam aqua

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry but someone had to write it

 

"Are you ready?" Sabine asked Ketsu, and adjusted her mask, oxygen tank heavy against her back.

"You know I am. Let's get this over with." She gave her a thumbs up, and Sabine carefully lowered herself into the water below them, Ketsu doing the same.

Shit, it was _freezing_ down here, she thought, shivering slightly, even in her full wetsuit. Ketsu shivered too, but smiled anyways, and they began their descent.

The water was surprisingly clear, but void of life as far as she could see, other than some little schools of fish. She could see their destination in the distance, a crashed transport shuttle they knew contained supplies.

Sabine looked at Ketsu for a few long minutes, letting her gaze flicker over her lithe form. She let her mind wander, knowing this mission would be easy. Simple and quick, and then when they got back, she'd watch some crappy holodrama. Maybe, if she was feeling spicy, she would take a nap for the rest of the day. Dive missions were tiring.

“Sabs. You have to look at this.” Ketsu’s voice was tinged with something Sabine recognized as awe, and she followed Ketsu’s gaze, gasping out loud.

The wreck was closer than they had originally thought, and now it loomed over them. It was a fairly generic ship, pretty new model. Couldn't have been down here for more than a week, she thought. But even so, it was teeming with life.

  
Fish darted in and out of the shattered viewports and nibbled at the seaweed. A ray flitted by. Algae was growing over the ship in every color of the rainbow, swaying back and forth, back and forth in the current.  
“It's.. It's _beautiful_ , Ketsu. I didn't expect this.” Her voice was thick with emotion as she reverently gazed at the ship. Ketsu smiled.  
“Not as beautiful as you,” She said quietly, and Sabine giggled a little.

  
“Oh, shut up.” Sabine carefully surveyed the ship, trying to find a way in without disturbing any of the organisms that had taken up residence. She circled around to the cockpit, and saw that there was a hole big enough for them to fit through pretty easily. “Come on!” She swam through, being careful so she didn't cut herself on the broken glass.  
Ketsu followed, and Sabine frowned a little. They _had_ to find the cargo bay.

It was surprisingly easy, as she swam through the hallways, and pulled herself through a hatch that lead to, of course, the cargo bay.  
She sighed in relief. Only a few of the containers were damaged.

“Get what you can carry, we’re going to bring them up a few at a time.” Sabine explained. Ketsu gave her a thumbs up and a smile, and they took 3 crates each. Luckily, they were small and light, likely carrying medical supplies or lightweight weapons. Things the empire needed.

 

 

~~~~

 

 

It was on the 3rd and final trip up when everything went wrong.

Sabine edged through the opening carefully, trying not to drop her crate.  
“ _Kriff!_ ” She gasped, pain lancing through her hand. She'd cut it on the glass, even though the gloves were supposed to be cut-proof. Blood blossomed in the water. Not much, thank the force, and the cut wasn't bad, but the saltwater stung badly.

  
“Hey, you alright, Senaar'ika? That was some language right there.” Ketsu’s voice was warm with badly concealed concern.

  
“Just cut my hand, that's all. Not bad.” Sabine said softly. Ketsu carefully examined her hand.  
“Yeah, you're good. I don't think there's any glass in there,” She paused. “But be careful, alright?”

"You know I wi-” Sabine was interrupted by an odd noise that seemed to come from outside of her comm, not from Ketsu.  
“What the hell was that, ‘Bine?”

Needless to say, they found out pretty fast.  
There was a _huge_ thing in front of them, like someone had mixed a shark, an eel, and some odd insect. The noise sounded again.

  
“Ketsu, I need you to get out of here, ok? It sensed that I was bleeding, probably. I can get out of this. I'll be fine.” Her voice shook, and she pulled the odd sonic stun blaster from it's holster. It supposedly dazed your attacker enough so you could get away.  
Sabine was about to find out.

 

“I'm not leaving you.” Ketsu said flatly, drawing her vibrostaff, and an identical blaster.  
She took aim with the blaster, closed her eyes, and fired as the thing approached, making a hissing click sound. Like a cricket, she thought, and laughed drily.  
The thing screeched and arched in the water, and they swam like their lives depended on it, because they did.

  
“Ketsu, the crate!” She exclaimed. “Distract it, and I'll go get it. It's the last one, after all.  
“Do you have to be so reckless?” She exclaimed. “Fine, I'll do it.”

  
Ketsu fired a warning shot, and the thing hissed at her, moving away from the wreck with its repulsive little fins. Sabine darted down and grabbed the crate.

  
“Hey, ugly, over here!” She yelled, and shot it, swimming up a little as she did so, towards Ketsu. It let out a cry of pain, and with a terrifying rush of speed, it slammed itself into Sabine, which in turn shot her backwards, slamming against the crashed ship so hard she saw stars. It hit her again, and it was her that cried out in pain this time, trying to draw her blaster and shoot the kriffing thing, but Ketsu did it first.  
Sabine vaguely realized her mask was shattered, water was pouring in, not as fast as she feared, but not slowly. She took in a huge breath of the remaining oxygen as the water filled her mask.

  
The creature wasn't quite giving up yet, but what it didn't notice was Ketsu moving behind it. By the time it noticed, it was too late. She thrusted the vibrostaff into where its carapace segmented, a weak spot. It thrashed violently a few times, it's tail slamming into Sabine’s face with bruising force, shattering her mask further, and then it was still.

  
By that time, Sabine’s lungs were burning, spasming dangerously. Ketsu swam to her as fast as she could safely, kicking aside the likely dead creature’s tail, and Sabine could barely see her, and then Ketsu’s arm was looped around her waist.  
With one last ounce of strength, the creature knocked Sabine into the ship’s hull, and she screamed, bubbles flurrying and obscuring her vision.

  
There was darkness, no light, the ship and Ketsu blurring into frenzied color. Freezing water rushed into her nose and mouth and ears, salt burning her throat as her lungs spasmed against it. Her tongue and throat and vision painted blues and greens and grays, and she couldn't tell which way was up, how could she?  
Then the colors vanished, and there was nothing but dizzying black.

 

  
~~

 

  
“Sabine. Sabine! Kriff, come on.” Ketsu’s voice filtered through, and there was an odd roaring in her ears. Waves, maybe.  
Sabine shivered. Cold. You couldn't be cold if you were dead.  
She coughed, and coughed again, and now she couldn't stop coughing. Ketsu’s warm hands held her half-upright as the water drained from her burning, spasming lungs in sudden gushes. It was horrible, and she couldn't breathe, kriff, she _can't_ breathe, can she, Sabine thought. The water was heavy and freezing in her lungs, and she considered letting herself die, just for a second, the thought flitting through her head.

  
“That's it. Come on, bright girl. You have to breathe.” Ketsu says, voice soft and shaky and scared above all. Rubbing slow, gentle circles into her back, and Sabine gasped violently, her breath hitching, hindered as she coughed up the remainder of the water. She laid there, shivering violently, and opened her eyes. Sabine’s helmet was off to the side, glass shattered.

Her stomach rolled as the boat rocked in the swell, and Ketsu’s face was blurred. “Can you speak?” She asked softly, and Sabine shook her head, lips trembling, and tears started rolling down her face.

“You're safe. I promise. I'm here, you're safe.” Ketsu pulled Sabine into her arms, and she wrapped her arms around the taller girl’s neck, pressing her face into her chest. She was _so_ cold, and Ketsu’s warmth was welcome against her chilled skin.

"Dammit, Sabs, you promised me you would be safe, sweetheart, what happened?" She choked out, voice thick with tears. Ketsu pressed her lips to Sabine’s forehead lightly, and she slowly felt her consciousness slipping away.

Sabine floated in and out of consciousness, flashes of noise and light. A med-droid, mostly empty hallways.  
When she awoke fully, she was in their room, and Ketsu gently set her down on the bed.  
She looked across to the mirror mounted on the wall. She was a sickly shade of white, circles standing out under her eyes. There was a bacta patch above her eye and on the side of her face, and a dark, ugly bruise mottled her cheek, and there was a smaller one on her neck.

  
Ketsu took her arm and guided her into the bathroom. “You have to get your wetsuit off.”

Sabine carefully unzipped it and stepped out of the drenched, damaged wetsuit. She stood there, shivering in her (modest, thankfully) surprisingly dry underclothes. Ketsu stepped out for a second, and came back with a sweatshirt, and Sabine slipped it over her head. It came down to her knees, clinging to her wet skin.

Sabine carefully walked back into their room, pulling on a pair of sweatpants and managing not to fall.  
Ketsu picked her up and gently set her down on the bottom bunk, and climbed up next to her, pulling her against her chest. Ketsu’s warmth was welcome against her chilled skin, full lips capturing hers quickly, and Sabine motioned for Ketsu to pull the blanket over her.

Ketsu did, and she pulled it closed around her, shivers subsiding a little bit.  
Soft, dizzy drowsiness dragged Sabine down, eyes sliding shut, and she drifted into deep, dreamless sleep.

 

 


End file.
